As it happened - Oil prices surge as drone attack wipes out five per cent of global crude supply
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Oil prices surged almost a fifth this morning, the biggest intraday jump on record, after drone strikes on a Saudi Arabian processing facility wiped out 5 per cent of the global supply of oil products.
Brent crude jumped 19 per cent to $71 a barrel within seconds after trading opened in Asian markets. Another closely watched benchmark, West Texas Intermediate, jumped as much as 15.5 per cent in New York to $63.34.
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Oil prices have surged this morning after attacks on the world's biggest oil processing facility and a nearby oil field wiped out half of Saudi Arabia's supply.
The attacks raised fears of increasing security risks to the world's largest exporter of crude.
'Not entirely clear' who carried out Saudi attacks, says Raab
The US is seeking to blame Iran for the attacks on Saudi Arabia's largest oil facility but the identity of the perpetrators remains disputed.
Donald Trump claimed yesterday that the US was "locked and loaded" for a response.
This morning the UK's foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, said that the attack was "a wanton violation of international law" and that Britain stood behind Saudi Arabia.
“In terms of who is responsible, the picture is not entirely clear,” Raab said. “I want to have a very clear picture which we will be having shortly.
“This was a very serious attack on Saudi Arabia and the oil installations and it has implications for global oil markets and supply,” Mr Raab said.
“It’s a very serious, an outrageous act, and we need to have a clear and as united as possible international response to it.”
How reliant is the world on the Saudi Arabia’s oil?
The blow is stunning, writes Hamish McRae.
The attacks on Saudi oil facilities have knocked out half of Saudi Arabia’s oil production. The kingdom is the world’s largest oil exporter. The state-owned company that produces the oil, Aramco, is probably the world’s most valuable enterprise. And oil provides one-third of the world’s primary energy.
It is hard to think through the global ramifications of an event such as this, because we know so little about the attack, about the likely political and military response to it, and about the practical implications for both Saudi Arabia, and more important, the world economy. But some points are already clear and it is worth setting them out.
Full analysis here:
Oil could potentially surge to $100 a barrel, says analyst
Hussein Sayed, chief market strategist at FXTM, believes attacks on a Saudi oil processing facility could push prices to $100 a barrel.
“What we know so far is that the attack has caused a disruption of 5.7 million barrels a day, which is almost 5 per cent of global oil supply. This makes it the biggest supply shortage shock in history. Now everyone seems to have the same question; when can Aramco return to normal production? Unfortunately, we don’t yet have a decisive answer.
“Three days ago, oil prices hitting $100 a barrel was almost an impossible scenario. Not anymore. That’s not just because of the current disruption from Saudi Arabia, but the fact that the chances of military conflict in the region have risen dramatically.
“The next couple of days and weeks will be of incredible importance to the global economy and markets, so keep a close eye on further developments.”
Could the unprecedented drone attack on Saudi oil supplies lead to war?
That prospect is certainly closer now, writes Borzou Daragahi.
The Middle East moved closer towards a broad armed conflict on Monday following US accusations that Iran was behind a sophisticated multi-faceted attack on major Saudi oil facilities at the weekend.
President Donald Trump warned in a tweet late on Sunday that the US was “locked and loaded” in response to the Saturday morning attack, which took up to a half of Saudi oil production off line and caused world petroleum prices to jump 20 per cent.
But he also said that the US would wait for intelligence that confirmed the “culprit” behind the attack and until Saudi Arabia, whose leadership is closely allied with the Trump administration, provided guidance.
More here:
'Unprecedented' oil price shock
Ranko Berich, head of market analysis at Monex Europe, comments:
"The weekend’s attacks in Saudi Arabia will have two consequences for financial markets and the global economy: the immediate oil price shock, which has already hit, and the longer-term costs of increased tensions or even a possible outbreak of conflict in the Persian Gulf.
"The size of the initial shock to oil prices was immense. Spot prices have surged by amounts unprecedented since the 1990 Iraq invasion of Kuwait, while Brent crude oil futures recorded their largest intraday surge since trading began in 1988, although since then the initial knee jerk surge has been pared back.
Oil price shocks, like those in 1973-4 in the wake of the Yom Kippur War and 1979 after the Iranian Revolution, often precede economic downturns.
That means the latest developments look "ominous", says Mr Berich, especially in the contaxt of an already worsening economic outlook.
Tensions in the Gulf have the potential to cause oil to trade with a premium - as the sharp drop in crude oil prices after the sacking of Iran hawk John Bolton proves.
The weekend’s attacks are likely to once again raise US-Iran tensions and therefore could keep oil trading at a premium well beyond the actual supply disruption.
Aldi to add 100 stores across UK in two years
Aldi plans to open 100 new stores over the next two years, including doubling its number of bracnhes in London.
Giles Hurley, the boss of Britain's fifth-largest grocer, told the BBC that Aldi would invest $1bn in expansion.
The comments came as Aldi reported annual sales surged 11 per cent but profits dropped 18 per cent, partly thanks to price cuts and extra investment.
Signs of Brexit stresses on the UK's housing market as asking prices dip
Average UK property asking prices have dipped by 0.2 per cent over the past month in a downward trend that began in June.
The average asking price dropped by £730 to £304,770, the first fall at this time of year since 2010, according to Rightmove which looked at data covering 95 per cent of all UK listings.
The property website said the housing market remains “fundamentally sound” but is being hurt by uncertainty surrounding the outcome of Brexit.
The full story:
Oil shares rise after Saudi attacks
Shares in energy companies are boosting the FTSE 100 this morning, with every other sector in the red.
Royal Dutch Shell is among the biggest gainers, up almost 3 per cent. National Grid is up 1 per cent.
Oil companies profits tend to rise when oil prices rise as they have this morning.
Brent crude is up 9 per cent, having spiked as much as 19 per cent higher, after attacks on Saudi Arabia' biggest oil facility.
In the FTSE 250, Tullow Oil was up almost 10 per cent. The oil and gas exploration company recently announced a big new discovery off the coast of Guyana.
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